We'll share the shelter of my bed
by KatBauer
Summary: "Careful, agent Ward, or I might think you're falling for me."


She found him sitting on the couch, alone, at three in the morning.

The BUS was eerily quiet and far too dark for her liking, and he was staring absently at some distant point without really seeing it, the book he had supposedly been reading resting on his lap, long since forgotten.

It made Skye's heart ache.

"Ward?" she called him softly, not wanting to startle him..

Her voice seemed to be the one thing to finally snap him out of the trance he'd been in and pull him back to reality. He blinked up at her, slightly confused and surprised at the fact that she had, somehow, managed to sneak up on him.

"What time it is?" he asked, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Past three," she answered, and then bit her lip. "Hey, come on," she said, holding her hand out to him. "Let's get you to bed, okay?"

It spoke volumes of his current state of mind the fact that he didn't offer any resistance at all. He simply took her hand, allowing her to pull him up to his feet and to lead him straight to her bunk. Without a word, she gently pushed him inside and slid the door shut behind them.

"Skye-" he hesitated.

"I'm not leaving you alone," she simply said.

And he just nodded, far too exhausted to even try to argue with her.

She tugged on his hand to get him to get into bed and then tucked him in before curling into his side, head resting on his shoulder and eyes fixed on his face.

"You know there was nothing you could do, right?" she said after a long pause. "It wasn't your fault."

"It was my job and I failed," he answered, his jaw clenching. "It _is_ my fault."

Skye gingerly pressed her palm against his cheek, and he turned to look at her, guilt and sadness written all over his face.

"It was _our_ job," she corrected him, raising her eyebrows. "We're a team. There's no _I_, Ward."

His fingers wrapped around her wrist then, pulling her hand to his chest to hold it against his heart, eyes squeezing shut as he took a deep breath trying to collect himself.

Skye tilted her head up, and on an impulse, she kissed his cheek, and if the tender gesture caught him off guard and made him blush slightly, she didn't say anything.

"For whatever it's worth," she whispered. "You saved my life today, so thank you."

They both fell silent after that, and soon enough, Skye's slow, steady breathing told him that she had fallen asleep, her hand still on his chest and clutching his shirt tightly, refusing to let go even in her sleep.

**xxx**

"Come on, it's not like we haven't shared a bed before," Skye said, tossing her duffel bag onto the bed while Ward stood behind her, arms folded across his chest.

"This is different," he said, eyeing the bed warily.

"Different bad?" Skye asked.

But when Ward didn't answer, and instead frowned his typical unamused frown, Skye rolled her eyes at him.

"If it makes you feel better, you can always sleep on the floor," she shrugged as she began to rummage through her bag, looking for her pajamas, and then disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower.

Ward sighed, defeated.

This damn job had left them both stranded in the middle of nowhere, in an almost deserted town, and in all honesty, they had been far too lucky to have found a place to spend the night. Even if said place was a small hotel with a more than questionable reputation amongst the locals.

So by the time Skye came out of the bathroom, Ward was already in bed, having given up on his protests, and apparently fast asleep.

Skye chuckled to herself. "Dumbass," she murmured, but there was a fond smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she got into bed and slipped under the covers.

She stayed still for a moment, intently watching him to make sure she hadn't accidentally woken him up, and then slowly began to inch her way closer to him until she was able to press her forehead against his shoulder and lightly grip his arm.

In her defense, they _were_ in the middle of nowhere and the creepy room with its even creepier huge windows was kind of starting to freak her out.

Still, she wasn't expecting him to suddenly roll onto his side and pull her against his chest, wrapping her up in a tight embrace.

"Sorry," Skye whispered as she snuggled closer, thankful for his warmth and the feeling of safety he provided. "Did I wake you?"

"I wasn't sleeping," he whispered back. "Are you alright?"

"I don't like this place," Skye muttered, biting her lip.

"We'll leave first thing in the morning," he assured her, running his fingers through her hair to soothe her.

Skye's eyes fluttered closed and she slowly began to relax, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against her ear almost lulling her to sleep. But when she felt his lips lightly brush across her forehead, Skye's cheeks turned bright red, suddenly realizing just how wrapped up in the feeling she'd gotten, and so she cleared her throat and awkwardly shifted a little away from him.

"I thought you were going to sleep on the floor?" she said, teasing him in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.

He looked down at her and for a moment, he seemed to hesitate, before finally shrugging and saying in a casual voice, "I can't afford a backache if I'm planning on getting us out of this town alive."

"Seriously? That's your excuse?" Skye smirked, eyebrows raised incredulously. "You're a terrible liar."

"I'm not lying," he protested weakly. But Skye could see the hint of an amused smile playing on his lips.

"Yes, you are," Skye insisted. "Ward, it's okay. You can say it," she made a dramatic pause and then added, "You wanted to sleep with me."

He suddenly tensed at that. "And what if I did?" he asked, all traces of amusement completely gone from his voice.

Skye bit her lip and swallowed, not having expected that answer. Still, she didn't back away. Instead, she tilted her head up and pressed a small, tentative kiss to the underside of his jaw.

"All you had to do was ask," she answered, pushing herself further up to kiss his cheek.

His eyes searched hers then, trying to figure out whether she was just messing with him again or if there was actually some truth to her words.

But when she leaned up once again, and this time kissed the corner of his mouth, any and all doubts instantly vanished from his mind, and his hand went back to tangling itself in her hair, holding her closer as he finally closed the distance between them and kissed her.

**xxx**

He hovered above her, palms pressed flat against the mattress to help him maintain balance as he leaned down to kiss the spot right below her belly button, making her squirm beneath him.

"That tickles," she said, and he smiled against her.

He slowly began to move up her body, leaving a trail of soft kisses as he went, and buried his face against the curve of her neck, soaking up her warmth and relishing the peace of mind she brought him as her arms wrapped around his torso, holding him close.

"Missing the hotel bed a bit?" Skye asked when he shifted slightly against her, trying to get more comfortable in the tiny bed of his bunk.

"I've been missing it since we left," he sighed, rolling them both over and smirking when Skye let out a surprised squeak.

"It was a really nice bed," she nodded.

"It was not the bed," he said slowly, his eyes roaming over her body and then settling back on her face, looking at her in such a way that made Skye's breath catch in her throat and her cheeks flush pink.

"Careful, agent Ward," Skye smiled sheepishly at him. "Or I might think you're falling for me."

"Skye," he said, hand cupping her face as he leaned in to kiss the bridge of her nose. "We both know I already have."


End file.
